Though Trip is not technically playable in Enslaved, she&#Array;s one of two equally main characters. And you&#Array;ll definitely need her help. Good thing she&#Array;s not annoying or dumb like so many video game companions have been in the past. | Image courtesy Namco Bandai via Games Press

It's a shame, but sometimes great games just fall through the cracks. Chalk up 2010's Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, based on the 16th-century Chinese novel "Journey to the West," as a game that fits in that category. A low-level marketing push, coupled with a new intellectual property amidst a sea of amazing titles, spelled a bit of doom for Enslaved.

Get this — Enslaved released in October 2010, the same fall as Halo: Reach, NBA2K11, Fallout: New Vegas, Kirby's Epic Yarn, Vanquish, Call of Duty: Black Ops, Donkey Kong Country Returns and Gran Turismo 5. I'll forgive Namco Bandai for its horrible planning as a publisher if they'll forgive me for taking almost two years to get around to playing Enslaved. (Note: Ninja Theory is the developer for Enslaved.)

The most up-to-date numbers I can find show Enslaved selling just under 900,000 copies as of today, far shy still of the 1 million the publisher had hoped it would sell. Despite being critically acclaimed, this is just another example of a good game getting lost in the crowd and losing money for a company because they did not properly market and plan the release date. Some of the blame is certainly on gamers for not giving new IPs a chance sometimes, but much of it lies with game companies for not possessing a basic understanding their markets.

A story-driven and character-based masterpiece

While Enslaved is by no means a perfect game, it brings a lot of freshness and fun to the table. It's so delightful to play a game that doesn't take itself too seriously while still delivering a quality story. Enslaved's story offers action, drama and quite a bit of humor, and the relationships between the characters — especially main characters Monkey and Trip — are where it really shines. What starts as an adversarial symbiosis evolves over time into a dynamic and complex friendship. Enslaved, while it has a vague story that keeps you looking for more answers, really becomes about its characters and how they will end up. Will they live? Will they die? Will they become lovers or try to kill each other? Or something in between?

Enslaved is set in a post-apocalyptic world ruled by mechs, but there's a twist — protected by mechs it can control, Pyramid enslaves the remaining humans for some sinister — or is it? — purpose. But this is not your average war-torn America. No, it's something more — lush, green flora sprouts throughout the colorful landscapes, accented by equally vibrant characters. This is a world already healing itself from a war far in the past, which makes the adventure seem that much more adventurous.

The graphics of Enslaved are a unique art style that blends a cel-shaded backdrop with a highly detailed industrial feel and nearly human characters. There is also a touch of photorealism to several cutscene moments. The facial expressions and body movement of the character models, while not L.A. Noire quality, are the closest thing I've seen in gaming this generation. While Monkey's face paint, anime hair and unrealistic physique make him look cartoony and out of place, Pigsy looks like the spitting image of an obese redneck swamp dweller. And Trip, well, she's without a doubt one of the sexiest computer-generated models ever created. Perhaps that's my Felicia Day fetish speaking a bit, but seriously — Trip's facial expressions are so human, her voiceover is perfection, and her curves are realistically full, not artificially exaggerated to the point of manga-like absurdity.

Tough to put down, but obviously a first take

Enslaved keeps you playing. Pacing, level length, difficultly and story are virtually perfect and drag you along through the game's 14 levels. Combat is complex enough to offer variety and fun, but simple enough to avoid frustration or the need to memorize any complex combos or patterns. I enjoyed the ability to level up different aspects of my character, even if I didn't like all the collecting of orbs it took to do so — experience solely from tasks/combat would've served a less-annoying same purpose.

Overall, the combat of Enslaved is very fun, even if it isn't very robust or new. But it's in ordering Trip and solving minor puzzles in the early stages of the game that Enslaved really stands out. Having a companion to protect is never frustrating like it has certainly been in video games past, primarily because Trip is an asset and never acts stupidly. Though it might seem Enslaved involves platforming, it really doesn't. In fact, the game is really more about puzzles, combat and traversal.

The traversal aspect of Enslaved is perhaps its most interesting and also most disappointing feature. While the combat is fluid, traversal is really not. It's actually not even challenging, nor does it allow for any creativity. After seeing the demo for Assassin's Creed III's treetop traversal at PAX East earlier this month, I really wish Enslaved did something like that. Instead, you basically just spam A and push the stick in the direction of the next glowing grab-on point. Timing or direction really don't matter. As long as you tilt the stick in the general direction of the next glowing point on a wall and hit the A button at any point, you'll automatically make a safe jump to the next point. If traversal is nothing more than something a monkey (no pun intended) could do, I am not sure why it was included.

Another minor issue in Enslaved involved the camera, which often took control away from you and swung around on its own, leading you to be pushing right and start running left because of the new direction in which the focal point had moved. Also, enemies were not that varied. There is really only one, maybe two, true boss battles in the game, and everything else gets repeated — a lot. While there are some fun and varied ways to take down certain enemies, the whole ordeal felt kind of stale by the end of the game. The game also relied on a third-person shooter mechanic at times, especially heavily toward the later levels, that I would've preferred had just been left out. It seemed like the game spent early levels introducing you to solving puzzles in a cooperative way with Trip, only to transition almost immediately away from that play style into a more combat-heavy game. Finally, there were a few framerate issues, though nothing horrible.

Crossing my fingers for more

I really hope Enslaved's poor performance doesn't hinder us from getting a sequel (or a prequel, actually, would also be welcome in this case). Even though some obvious flaws limited the game from climbing up to the very top of the ratings like some other games that came out around the same time, it was still well-reviewed, which is well-deserved. I loved Enslaved. I want to experience more of that world, even if I do have a long list of suggestions I could offer about what I want in the next iteration (if, of course, we ever get it).

If you haven't played Enslaved, definitely give it a try. I know I'm kicking myself that it was in my backlog for so long, but now I'm just disappointed that more of it isn't on the horizon. If you still aren't sure whether it's a fit, I would say the combat is like a less-complex Darksiders, while the rest is reminiscent of platformers like Jak & Daxter. However, there are also sneaking portions, puzzle elements and cooperative takedowns, all of which reminded me of Beyond Good & Evil. In fact, gamers who've been clamoring for BG&E2 should really think about playing Enslaved (it even has a pig).

In the end, Enslaved was too short and had too many blemishes to earn a spot at the top with this generation's greats. But it brought to the table all the right elements of fun and storytelling for me to consider it a worthy contender for most underrated, overlooked good game this generation. Not since Vanquish have I enjoyed a game so much that I knew so little about. If you're tired of the same old stuff, become a slave to something different.

So I tweaked my header. Some of the same elements, but made the title smaller and reduced some text. Also used my avatar head as the O in "BLOG." I took out some characters I don't care for as much lately from the group, and I added in Chell and Dovahkiin, from Portal and Skyrim, respectively.

Obviously, I made this one a GIF and threw in what my avatar actually looks like right now with some movement and changed the background out to that usually associated with the Illusive Man from Mass Effect. The only issue is that the GIF reduced the quality of my original PSD quite a bit, but it still looks good enough for a blog, I guess.

Oh, and can you spot the beagle running across? I couldn't resist having a beagle for my avatar, so I thought I should at least get another use out of him. ^.^

OK, so sorry about this pointless blog post. Just thought I'd share as I have seen so many neat ones one here that I like lately.

What's next for me? Well, I just finished Enslaved, a game that had been in my backlog for a while — but definitely didn't deserve to be ignored this long! I'll have a review up sometime soon. Take care, friends, and until next time, hit me up on Twitter: @joshuadelung.

There have been quite a few James Bond video games through the years. While the quantity doesn't match the sheer number of films featuring Agent 007, the range from superbly amazing to utterly unpalatable certainly applies across the board for this franchise. I recently finished GoldenEye 007: Reloaded on the Xbox 360, which led me to think about all the Bond games I've played in my life. With the exception of "The Duel" on the Sega Genesis, I've experienced every entry in the series. Let's take a stroll down memory lane and revisit the top five Bond games ever made — then we'll take a few moments to lay to rest the horrible entries as well.

I refer to this one as Pokébond.

5. James Bond 007 (Game Boy, 1997)

As game systems reach the end of their lives, we quite often start to see masterpieces rise to the surface to give the hardware a proper sendoff. While James Bond 007 may not be considered that pinnacle title for the Game Boy, there's no denying that this was one of the last great games to release for the original black-and-white beloved brick. It's a shame that this title may have been overlooked by portable gaming lovers in general, much less Bond fans.

Playing more like a top-down adventure game than a shooter, this game also featured a few classic Bond villains. This cartridge contained a quest fit for a king — or Her Majesty's Secret Service.

Denise Richards will always be one of my favorite Bond girls. That has nothing to do with where I&#Array;m ranking this game, though. Promise.

4. The World is Not Enough (N64, 2000)

The World is Not Enough followed, on the N64 anyway, the game that arguably started Bond's rise to gaming royalty, GoldenEye 007. While the multiplayer didn't have the same draw, it was actually quite good, and this game's perfect use of the Expansion Pak and Rumble Pak gave it a level of fidelity unparalleled by many N64 shooters.

After the not-so-stellar third-person experience of Tomorrow Never Dies on the Playstation that came between GE007 and TWINE, this return to first-person shooting goodness with a pretty good tie to the movie was a comfortable place for Bond game fans. And it was one of the best-looking and most solid FPS' of its time.

Though not tied to a film, many fans liked the story of Agent Under Fire.

3. 007: Agent Under Fire (PS2, 2001)

I consider Agent Under Fire to be the true spiritual successor to the original GoldenEye. AUF really returned to the roots of what made Bond games successful in the first place, but it also improved on that formula by introducing more vehicular combat levels. The multiplayer was arguably the most fun since GE, and the unique story (not tied to any Bond films) was actually quite well-written.

Missions had the ability to evolve a bit throughout levels, adding a bit of extra tension and excitement to the game. Along with some well-acted and interesting new characters, AUF felt like the first Bond game in which the developers really wanted to get that 'bang' factor back like they'd achieved on the N64. Despite their best efforts, they didn't get the formula just right, but the attempt was a solid one. The game's sequel, Nightfire, also wasn't bad, but this is definitely the better of the two games in my opinion.

I still get excited every time I see this box art.

2. GoldenEye 007 (N64, 1997)

I can already hear the gasps out there that I rank GoldenEye as my number two on the Bond list, but don't get the wrong idea — this game is a classic, and it's certainly the Bond game that I spent the most time with. While I do have every single-player mission memorized, the multiplayer was the obvious gem of this title.

No matter how many times developers have tried, no one has come close to recreating the magic of Rare's original Bond FPS title. And despite what came before it, this is really the game that put 007 on the console map and converted a whole new generation of gamers into Bond-franchise fans.

If you never tried this one, it&#Array;s worth a shot. No pun intended.

1. 007: Everything or Nothing (PS2, 2004)

Consider your mind blown. That's right, despite its legendary status, GoldenEye is not the best Bond game ever made. Why do I have this opinion? For starters, I'm a bigger fan of third-person, cover-based shooters than of the FPS genre, and this game delivers. If you pick it up, don't expect something equivalent to today's third-person masterpieces, but EoN certainly held up in its day.

Aside from some of the best 'Bond moments' ever, fun and fast-paced third-person gameplay, and an original, well-told story, EoN also had the most star-studded cast ever in a Bond game (quite an accomplishment considering it's not based on any of the films). Alongside Pierce Brosnan, big names such as Judi Dench, John Cleese, Willem Dafoe, Shannon Elizabeth, Mya, Richard Kiel (the original Jaws from the films) and Heidi Klum all lent their likenesses and voices to EoN.

With the introduction of 'Bond sense' and vehicle sequences based on the Need for Speed engine, this game had it all. And I haven't even addressed the multiplayer yet. While some folks might be disappointed by the lack of versus-style combat, I found that many other games had progressed far beyond what a Bond title might be able to deliver in that realm by 2004. But the cooperative multiplayer mode that featured horde-style arcade gameplay provided hours upon hours of fun for me and one of my best friends during the spring of my freshman year of college. I'm pretty sure we may have missed a class or two because of it.

From a fresh take on the gameplay to an all-around production value that is arguably the highest for the franchise, EoN gets my vote for the best Bond game ever made.

The worst Bond games

I don't want to spend a lot of time being negative here, but the series has certainly seen its fair share of bad titles too. Before you head to the comments below to voice your opinion on the best and worst games, check out these stinkers:

GoldenEye: Rogue Agent (PS2, 2004) — Never has a more misleading and absolutely abhorrent cash grab been made in gaming. (OK, maybe Dragon Age II.)

Tomorrow Never Dies (Playstation, 1999) — Bond's first foray into the third-person shooter genre was not as good as his more recent experience.

007: Quantum of Solace (Wii, 2008) — And you thought shooters couldn't get any worse on the Wii.

007 Racing (Playstation, 2000) — Sure, Bond is known for cars, but that's only half his story... or, less than that, actually.

I expect this post might be controversial with some, or it may inspire a few /rants. That's fine, just keep it civil, mmmkay?

Today I decided that I'm through patronizing GameStop. For many years, it's been my go-to source for getting games (even as far back as the days of Software Etc.) because I liked the customized-to-gamers experience as opposed to buying from a big box store. I've even participated in the rewards program and found that the membership price was worth the value I got in return for extra trade-in credit and used game purchase discounts.

But the conversation has changed. Buying used games is arguably bad for developers, but good for retailers. We all know that the online pass is one example of publishers' attempts to keep gamers buying new copies without necessarily eliminating one of their biggest allies for sales — GameStop. But that ally is also an enemy. It's an adversarial, symbiotic relationship between game companies and retailers, especially those who sell used games like GameStop.

However, the reason I'm done with GameStop isn't because I'm entirely against buying used games. In fact, it's a very economical model for people who play lots of games, and I realized long ago that there was no point in me maintaining a large library of games that I will never revisit. It made sense in the days of cartridges, but there is such a constant flow of quality new titles nowadays that I don't have time or the desire to go back and replay old games I've already beaten.

Just because I support the used game market, I'm also not against online passes. If you want to play online, you should have to give the actual companies who maintain servers and take care of releasing patches some of your money. But titles that aren't AAA-rated, that have been out a while or that are quite short don't always justify the $60 price tag. Or even $40 in some cases. But yet many publishers don't get that and refuse to lower the price of games that just aren't up to snuff. A balance needs to be struck.

While I realize this is all really only a relevant conversation until all content is distributed digitally, the issue of used games and where to buy them is relevant and will be for quite some time, especially in the U.S. Our Internet infrastructure here just is not robust enough to cover all of the rural areas of our vast country, and forcing consumers to rely on an Internet connection wouldn't be a money-making move for anyone at this point (as much as some of us urbanites would like it).

This isn't just a conversation I'm starting about used content, though. I'm not buying anything from GameStop. What this is really about is the underlying issue with brick-and-mortar stores. They've refused to adapt to changing times, and because of that, they will eventually die. Amazon — an online source — is now my choice for purchasing video games, just as it has slowly become my first choice for purchasing almost everything else — from shoes to Christmas gifts.

Here are a few reasons I'm choosing Amazon over GameStop:

Preordering new games: I pretty much only buy games brand spanking new when it's a game that is a big deal to me and I've therefore already reserved it (Mass Effect 3 is a recent example). Amazon now offers 99-cents release-date delivery on many video games, saving me a trip to the store in after-work rush hour traffic to pick up my reservation. And, Amazon quite often has a preorder bonus (in addition to stuff like extra DLC), such as a $10 credit toward a future purchase.

Trade-ins: Amazon actually lists the trade-in value for games on its website. GameStop almost never does this, and they won't even tell you the trade-in value of a game when you call them. However, there are entire websites dedicated to crowdsourcing GameStop trade-in values. Using those sites, I recently compared the two outlets' trade-in values — Amazon was several dollars higher on all occasions, and they provide you with a free-shipping label to send in your trades.

Buying used games: This is where the comparison perhaps gets a little more even. Sometimes you can get great deals at GameStop on used older titles, especially when factoring in the 10-percent PowerUp member discount. But we've all seen GameStop take $5 off a new release price tag of $60 to sell the game for $55 that they gave some poor old chap a much more measly trade-in amount for. I can probably find a cheaper version on Amazon (perhaps using some of that bonus preorder store credit), or even better, a cheaper new copy, which is a good deal for me and the industry.

So to summarize, I think we as gamers should buy new games when we can, and when it makes sense. The cold hard fact is people in the gaming industry lose their jobs because retailers make money instead of developers, the people who created the piece of art I'm purchasing a license to play. But I'm also not going to mindlessly pour cash into the gaming industry for companies who think their eight-hour mediocre title deserves the same $60 I plunk on a well-produced, 100-hour RPG. Regardless of new vs. used, Amazon offers me more in return for doing business for them, often in a more convenient way without any goofy membership clubs or annoying store workers trying to harass me about preorders.

I'm not saying Amazon, or any company, is completely inherently perfect (or bad). And I'm open to other alternatives if my fellow gamers have ideas to share. This is just my opinion, and it's an alternative that makes a lot of sense to me.

Agree? Disagree? Have other game-buying and trading sources and ideas for your fellow IGNers? Leave them on the comments below and be sure to hit me up on Twitter@joshuadelung.

A few things that remind you of James Bond reappear in GoldenEye 007: Reloaded. But mostly you&#Array;ll just want to cry. | Activision via Games Press

GoldenEye 007: Reloaded released last fall on the Xbox 360 to surprisingly little fanfare. One would think the success of the original on Nintendo 64 and the ever-present cry from '90s gamers for the game's HD remake (or release on virtual console for Wii, something that will almost certainly never happen now that Microsoft owns Rare, the original game's developer) would've warranted more hype and marketing push. But not only was there a lack of promotion for this game, but also the release window was horribly planned. In fact, though I've had the game nearly since its release, I've been held up with AAA titles like Batman: Arkham City (my review), Skyrim (my review part one and part two) and Mass Effect 3 (my review).

But now, I've had time to jump back in and catch up on some older games I started back in the fall before I ultimately end up diving into other neglected spring titles and the stuff hitting shelves this summer (though, for the record, September's Borderlands 2 is my most-anticipated game of the year, alongside Darksiders II). Keep reading to find out what I thought about 007's reincarnation and revisited apocalyptic satellite story.

Golden no more

Fans of the original N64 classic will be disappointed. That's not to say Reloaded gets it all wrong — it's just vastly different from the original, and the things you think would've been updated to modern-day gaming standards still feel stuck in the 20th century.

AI is obtuse. Missions seem drawn out. The GoldenEye story has been re-imagined almost beyond recognition to a cliché banking crisis tale. Some characters look better than the original, while others seem out of place. One-hit-KO-out-of-nowhere instances occur frequently. And quick-time events speckle the landscape like freckles on a ginger in the July sun. This game is a lot like the James Bond film franchise has been since the Daniel Craig (who, by the way, has replaced Pierce Brosnan in this game) era began — filled with a few interesting moments, but utterly devoid of everything that once made it great.

Even the multiplayer, which is likely is the reason so many gamers fondly remember GoldenEye, doesn't hold the same appeal. Gone are proximity mines and memorable maps. Instead, you get recycled versions of the single-player campaign's levels and battles that feel like they have no identity — if you can find anyone online to play with at all (as you've likely noticed, it didn't really catch on this time around). You likely won't be able to talk even your closest friends or your significant other into playing much old-school splitscreen either. Because it's not what they remember, their attention span will be short (trust me, I tried).

Worst Bond game ever?

Nope. Definitely not. There have been far worse aggressors, even recently (Quantum of Solace's video game interpretation on the Wii comes to mind). In fact, those who yearn for old-school FPS action will get a little pleasure from Reloaded. The shooting is very old-school and gallery-like. The levels are linear, and there are plenty of the traditional weapon classes (shotgun, automatic, pistol). And though the story of GoldenEye has been redone, Reloaded loosely follows the level order and plot of the original. This game isn't strategic, smart, innovative or involving like some modern shooters, but it has that dumb-AI-insane-respawn-relax-and-throw-some-lead-down-range feeling that has the fun and casual appeal of something like the Call of Duty franchise.

Don't pay full price for late pizza. In other words, this isn't a must-play, not even for Bond fans or N64 GoldenEye fans. It's also not a buy-it-new title. Find it on sale, in the used bin or rent it if you're in need for an FPS fix that's digestible and playable, just don't expect the production value and precision of other modern (or "Modern") shooters.

Final verdict

I think spoilers, even minor ones, are moot, given the story on which this game is based is more than a decade old. So I'll just say this — replacing the death-defying final slappers battle against Trevelyan with a solar energy plant QTE frenzy (seriously, like a dozen of them) just really took the wind out of any sails Reloaded may have had. The final battle exemplified my overall summary of this game. Every time it has a chance for a climactic moment, Reloaded throws a wrench in its own gears. Its finale, like its core, is flat, and just OK.

My score: 6.5/10

Agree? Disagree? Comment below and let me know on Twitter, where I talk about games quite often: @joshuadelung.